Design and manufacturing company Pratt & Whitney and the FAA have announced a collaborative effort to study non-CO2 aviation emissions.
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Pratt & Whitney and the FAA are collaborating with Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T), Aerodyne Research, and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to study non-CO2 aviation emissions.
"As the aviation industry targets a goal of net-zero CO2 emissions by 2050, we continue to pay close attention to addressing the environmental impact of other emissions, including cruise non-volatile particulate matter and NOx," said Sean Bradshaw, Pratt & Whitney's senior technical fellow of sustainable propulsion. "Combustor rig tests with 100 percent sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) provide a controlled environment for generating valuable baseline data, which will support future studies using full scale engines on-wing at ground and flight-test conditions."
The effort is part of the FAA’s Ascent program, a cooperative aviation research organization co-led by Washington State University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology tasked with the goal of reducing the environmental impacts of aviation. Ascent will study and compare emissions from jet-A and SAF comprised of 100 percent hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids synthetic paraffinic kerosene (HEFA-SPK), a biofuel derived from vegetable oils and animal fat.
"By bringing together expertise from industry, government, and academia, this project represents an important step towards understanding and reducing the environmental impacts of aviation, including those arising from non-CO2 emissions," said Philip Whitefield of Missouri University of Science and Technology. "SAF containing low sulfur and aromatic hydrocarbon concentrations could contribute to reduced sulfur dioxide and non-volatile particulate emissions, which are associated with contrail formation and the impact to global warming."
The test will take place at Pratt & Whitney's facility in Middletown, Connecticut.
Pratt & Whitney and the FAA are collaborating with Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T), Aerodyne Research, and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to study non-CO2 aviation emissions.
"As the aviation industry targets a goal of net-zero CO2 emissions by 2050, we continue to pay close attention to addressing the environmental impact of other emissions, including cruise non-volatile particulate matter and NOx," said Sean Bradshaw, Pratt & Whitney's senior technical fellow of sustainable propulsion. "Combustor rig tests with 100 percent SAF provide a controlled environment for generating valuable baseline data, which will support future studies using full scale engines on-wing at ground and flight-test conditions."
The effort is part of the FAA’s Ascent program, a cooperative aviation research organization co-led by Washington State University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology tasked with the goal of reducing the environmental impacts of aviation.
The project will study and compare emissions from jet-A and SAF comprised of hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids synthetic paraffinic kerosene (HEFA-SPK), a biofuel derived from vegetable oils and animal fat.
"By bringing together expertise from industry, government, and academia, this project represents an important step towards understanding and reducing the environmental impacts of aviation, including those arising from non-CO2 emissions," said Philip Whitefield of Missouri University of Science and Technology.